Alhambra Theatre

Joe Vogel on March 3, 2020 at 1:30 am

Several sources indicate that the Alhambra Cinema Theatre opened in 1922. It was built for someone called H. Howard, and designed in a Moorish-atmospheric style by architect Arthur George Cross. The building was either completely replaced or radically altered (sources are not clear) in 1952 for African Consolidated Theatres, which had taken over operation of the house in 1927.

The new Alhambra opened with 800 seats on December 31, 1952, and operated as a first run cinema until 1963, when the lease was taken over by the newly-formed Natal Performing Arts Council for use as a venue for live performances. NAPAC bought the leasehold outright in 1970, and continued to use the Alhambra through its 1985 season. After that the theater became a church.